Special Opportunities

Certificates

Area Certificates

Certificate programs are available in a number of areas; for further information, students should see the departmental entries in this bulletin. Such certificates can be pursued only in conjunction with a degree program and cannot be awarded independently.

Free-Standing Certificates

Graduate certificates are offered in some fields to allow a focused credential to be earned by a person who has already earned an undergraduate degree and is not enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program. The courses taken are typically the same as those taken for other degrees, but a more limited number of courses is required for the certificate. Graduate certificates typically involve a predetermined curriculum of 16 to 20 credit hours. Students enrolled in free-standing certificate programs who wish subsequently to pursue an advanced de­gree must make separate application to the University Gradu­ate School and must have specific permission of the faculty of their degree program to use any credits earned as a certificate student for the more advanced degree.